I have tried several times to do this post. Once I had it almost completed and I somehow deleted it. I was a week babysitting my grandson in Indy with no time for posting and my mother-in-law fell and broke her arm and wrist. She was in the hospital 5 days and is now transferred to a rehab facility to hopefully transition back to independent living. It’s like the weight of the world was holding me back. More on that later…but now here is more about my London trip.
After arriving in London we made our way through customs and down to baggage claim. I grabbed what I thought was my suitcase only to discover that someone else’s slippers were in my outside pocket. Oh, wait, that wasn’t my suitcase! Mine eventually did come down the chute. Dan grabbed his bag off the convaror belt to find the bottom ripped. Nothing appeared to have fallen out. Fortunately Dan had packed some duck tape!
After we had retrieved our luggage we bought our Oyster cards. I have no idea why they are called that, but they are like credit cards that are electronic ticketing used on public transport in Greater London. We made our way to the Underground Tubes. Mind you, we were toting our suitcases up and down stairs and onto the trains. My suitcase was just over 50 pounds, Dans of course was broken, and one of the wheels on Barb’s suitcase broke. People were so friendly and offered to help Barb with her suitcase twice. Not sure why only her… Instead of trying to carry mine I just pulled it behind me down the stairs, thump, thump, thump. We got on one line and transferred to another to go to Harrod’s, a famous department store in London. Harrod’s had a service of storing your suitcase while you shopped for a fee, of course!
From Harrod’s we walked through Kensington Park, saw Kensington Palace, and headed to the next tube station. Remember, toting our luggage the whole time.
Once on the next tube, we headed to Barb’s nephew’s apartment. Walked up and down the stairs in the tube station, walked to the apartment, walked up the stairs to the apartment, all the time lugging our suitcases. Once there, we enjoyed a nice dinner and seeing the rest of the groom’s family. After dinner, walked back to the tube station, up and down the tube stairs and hopped on (more like struggled on with our suitcases) the tube to take us to our hotel. At our stop we got off the tube, walked up and down the stairs at the station and walked to our hotel. We received a warm chocolate chip cookie after checking in. Chocolate makes things better! Then we promptly fell into bed.
There are things in life that weigh us down. It can be worries, tyranny of the urgent, burdens, knowing that something we are doing is wrong, certain people, bitterness or anger. Corrie TenBoom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”
Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress.” This verse probably was making reference to the races like Olympics in Rome. An athlete can’t wear a loose fitting garment by which the runner becomes entangled and tripped up, or one that clings closely to him and impedes his ease of movement. Like the athlete, we must also strip away from us and throw aside the clinging robe of familiar sin. Sin is an obstacle to the race or journey that God has mapped out for us. Everything that would hinder that path- weight of cares, of interests, of attachments to things, of relationships- that God has for us must be layer aside.
While in London I wore very comfortable shoes which helped with all the walking and lugging we did. Joyce Meyers uses an analogy of the discomfort that comes from wearing a pair of shoes that don’t fit. When we are living a life where we have thrown off the weights and hinderances and follow God’s way he promises that we will be “at ease.” (Psalm 25:13). That doesn’t mean life will be easy. But when we start following God’s plans for our life it is like finding a pair of shoes that fit comfortably.
Is there a weight in your life you must lay aside? God has set before you a race. You must run it and it will involve commitment and comfortable shoes!
On the journey,
Trish
PS. When it was time to leave London we took a taxi back to the airport instead of riding the tube and lugging our suitcases!